2013 Management's Discussion and Analysis

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Table of contents

  See our Glossary for definitions of terms used throughout this document

Caution regarding forward-looking statements

From time to time, we make written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. We may make forward-looking statements in this 2013 Annual Report, in other filings with Canadian regulators or the SEC, in other reports to shareholders and in other communications. Forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our financial performance objectives, vision and strategic goals, the economic and market review and outlook for Canadian, U.S., European and global economies, the regulatory environment in which we operate, the outlook and priorities for each of our business segments, and the risk environment including our liquidity and funding management. The forward-looking information contained in this document is presented for the purpose of assisting the holders of our securities and financial analysts in understanding our financial position and results of operations as at and for the periods ended on the dates presented and our financial performance objectives, vision and strategic goals, and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "foresee", "forecast", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "goal", "plan" and "project" and similar expressions of future or conditional verbs such as "will", "may", "should", "could" or "would".

By their very nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, which give rise to the possibility that our predictions, forecasts, projections, expectations or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct and that our financial performance objectives, vision and strategic goals will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of risk factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors - many of which are beyond our control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict - include: credit, market, liquidity and funding, insurance, regulatory compliance, operational, strategic, reputation and competitive risks and other risks discussed in the Risk management and Overview of other risks sections; the impact of regulatory reforms, including relating to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision's (BCBS) global standards for capital and liquidity reform, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations issued and to be issued thereunder, over-the-counter derivatives reform, the payments system in Canada, the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and regulatory reforms in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and Europe; the high levels of Canadian household debt; cybersecurity; the business and economic conditions in Canada, the U.S. and certain other countries in which we operate; the effects of changes in government fiscal, monetary and other policies; our ability to attract and retain employees; the accuracy and completeness of information concerning our clients and counterparties; the development and integration of our distribution networks; model, information technology and social media risk; and the impact of environmental issues.

We caution that the foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect our results. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to us, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Material economic assumptions underlying the forward looking statements contained in this 2013 Annual Report are set out in the Overview and outlook section and for each business segment under the heading Outlook and priorities. Except as required by law, we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

Additional information about these and other factors can be found in the Risk management and Overview of other risks sections.

Information contained in or otherwise accessible through the websites mentioned does not form part of this report. All references in this report to websites are inactive textual references and are for your information only.